Xiaomi Unveils New Strategy, Plans to Invest $1.5 bln in AI, IoT in Next 5 years

Xiaomi’s global expansion will continue this year, with focus on the European and Latin America markets, says company CEO

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi plans to invest over 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) over the next five years.

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At the company’s annual party, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun announced that their growth strategy for the near future will focus on smartphones as well as AI and IoT technologies and applications.

The company call its new strategy AIoT (meaning both “AI+IoT” and “All in IoT”) and is aiming to develop this part of the business into a second core of the company’s strategy. Smartphone is the current core business of Xiaomi.

The decision came after Xiaomi inked a strategic partnership with home appliance maker TCL and bought a tiny portion of the company’s shares weeks ago, a Hyderabad-based newspaper reported.

The alliance and investment will strengthen Xiaomi’s home appliance business in terms of supply chain and manufacturing, especially in air conditioners and washing machines, it said.

Global expansion plan

As of last November, Xiaomi has connected over 132 million smart devices, excluding mobile phones and laptops.

According to the newspaper, Lei said Xiaomi’s smartphone business will continue to focus on innovation and quality, as well as to optimize its product portfolio.

The company’s global expansion will continue this year, with focus on the European and Latin America markets, Lei said.

Dual-brand strategy

Xiaomi will be applying a dual-brand strategy to strengthen its positions in the smartphone sector.

While its flagship and other high-end products will continue to come under the “Mi” brand, the mid-range value-for-money products will be sold under the “Redmi” brand.